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The Asphalt Jungle

In a smog-choked city somewhere in the American Midwest, an aging criminal mastermind, newly released from prison, hatches a plan for a million-dollar jewel heist and draws a wealthy lawyer and a cherry-picked trio of outlaws into his carefully devised but inevitably doomed scheme"--Container.

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Definitely one of the best noir films ever made. Easily a match for Huston's other noir classic The Maltese Falcon. Sam Jaffee and Sterling Hayden are incomparable in this heist job classic.
Marilyn Monroe does a good job in a very early role. Most of the cast are spot on in their roles. Excellent script, very good pacing and no unnecessary scenes. The ending is memorable and suitable.
It is worth while to read Sterling Hayden's biography on IMDb. His life reads like a novel. During WWII he was an OSS agent operating behind enemy lines in Yuhoslavia.

John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle"(1950) is not only one of the best film noirs ever made but is without a doubt one of the greatest heist films of all time. It certainly paved the way for all the heist films that came after it and even more recent ones (i.e. "Ocean's Eleven", "Heat", etc.) but even after 65 years, it doesn't get any better than "The Asphalt Jungle".

John Huston’s quintessential noir classic features knockout performances from a cast of Hollywood heavies and enough moody atmosphere for a dozen lesser movies. Shooting in expressive B&W that transforms his unnamed city into a concrete wasteland of littered streets and grimy back rooms, Huston populates his film with crooked cops, backstabbing gangsters, and the prerequisite beautiful women; from Marilyn’s brain-addled temptress to Jean Hagen’s naïve showgirl whose unrequited love for one of Doc’s posse brings her nothing but heartache. An intelligent script crackles with enough angst and menace that Huston wisely refrained from garnishing it with an unnecessary soundtrack…in fact the entire film only contains six minutes of background music heard during the opening credits and returning for the ironically pastoral closing scene. “Crime is nothing but a left-handed form of human endeavour…” says a morally bankrupt lawyer at one point and despite a tidy little “law and order” service announcement delivered by the city’s upstanding chief of police Huston’s pessimistic foray into mankind’s darker side would seem to bear that out.

This is a 1950 film noir directed by John Huston, based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett.
In a minor but key role, Marilyn Monroe plays a mistress for an aged lawyer.
At the time Monroe was an unknown actress who was pictured but not mentioned on the posters.
Sterling Hayden plays as a brazen hard-boiled hoodlum who just wants to go back home.
Sam Jaffe does wonders as a cool-headed mastermind, James Whitmore appears taut as a small 'fixer' and John McIntire seems crisp as a chief of police.
In 2008, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Newly released from prison, notorious master thief Erwin “Doc” Riedenschneider is already planning the biggest heist of his career—no less than a million dollars in gems locked away in the vault of a swank jewellery store. To this end he gathers a small cadre of local crooks bankrolled by a prominent lawyer with a taste for the good life, including a very expensive bleached blonde mistress (an unknown Marilyn Monroe). However, despite Doc’s meticulous planning things begin to fall apart almost from the beginning thanks to a few technical mishaps and the inherent greed of his cohorts. But when the double-crosses begin in earnest everyone’s future begins to look increasingly grim… John Huston’s quintessential noir classic features knockout performances from a cast of Hollywood heavies and enough moody atmosphere for a dozen lesser movies. Shooting in expressive B&W that transforms his unnamed city into a concrete wasteland of littered streets and grimy back rooms, Huston populates his film with crooked cops, backstabbing gangsters, and the prerequisite beautiful women; from Marilyn’s brain-addled temptress to Jean Hagen’s naïve showgirl whose unrequited love for one of Doc’s posse brings her nothing but heartache. An intelligent script crackles with enough angst and menace that Huston wisely refrained from garnishing it with an unnecessary soundtrack…in fact the entire film only contains six minutes of background music heard during the opening credits and returning for the ironically pastoral closing scene. “Crime is nothing but a left-handed form of human endeavour…” says the morally bankrupt lawyer at one point and, despite a tidy little “law and order” service announcement delivered by the city’s upstanding chief of police, Huston’s pessimistic foray into mankind’s darker side would seem to bear that out.

Very worth watching for a glimpse into post-war American crime drama, especially for that young knock-out blonde---I mean Sterling Hayden before he drank away his looks----and of course, the lovely Norma Jean. The whole cast is outstanding.

One of the noir classics, it hasn't aged all that well. Life is awful, people are awful, and after a while it is hard to care. This movie and idea was fresh in its day, but we are flooded with this kind of thing now. This one is no worse, but it's hard to see any redeeming quality in any of them.

Gus (feeding a cat on the counter of his diner): "Smart cat. Never does a lick of work, stays out all night, sleeps all day." Truck driver: "What's a big, dirty cat doin' in an eatin' joint? I run over one every time I get a chance. People feedin' cats and some kids haven't got enough to eat." Gus: "You gonna buy that magazine?" Truck driver: "Why should I? I seen all the dames in it already. Wanna make somethin' of it?" Gus: "You're a little off your beat, ain'tcha buster?" Truck driver: "How d'ya mean, Humpty Dumpty?" Gus: "I mean you don't belong around here... are ya just passin' through..." (grabs him and throws him out) "Only not fast enough! ...If I ever see you runnin' over a cat I'll kick your teeth out." Truck driver: "I'd take you apart if you were about a foot taller 'n straightened up a little..." (Gus jumps, the trucker screws)